LAUSR

The contribution of infill wall is generally not considered in the structural analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) structures due to the lack of knowledge of the complex behavior of the infilled frame of RC structures. However, one of the significant factors affecting structural behavior and earthquake performance of RC structures is the infill wall. Considering structural and architectural features of RC structures, any infill wall may have openings with different amounts and aspect ratios. In the present study, the influence of infill walls with different opening rates on the structural behaviors and earthquake performance of existing RC structures were evaluated. Therefore, the change in the opening ratio in the infill wall has been investigated for monitoring the change in structural behavior and performance of the RC structures. The earthquake performance levels of existing RC structures with different structural properties were determined by detecting the damage levels of load-carrying components. The results of the analyzes indicate that the infill wall can completely change the distribution of column and beam damage level. It was observed that the openings in the walls had serious impact on the parameters affecting the behavior and earthquake performance of the RC structures. The infill walls have a beneficial effect on the earthquake performance of RC structures, provided they are placed regularly and there are appropriate openings rate throughout the RC structures and they do not cause structural irregularities.